Ms JODIE HARRISON (Charlestown—Minister for Women, Minister for Seniors, and Minister for the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault)— As part a state-wide open day held on 13 May, I caught up with the crews at Fire and Rescue NSW station 500 Tingira Heights and Fire and Rescue NSW Station 255 Charlestown.

As always, during my visit I was struck by the professionalism and dedication of our crews, who were delighted to have the opportunity to pass on their knowledge to visitors.

Local children had the opportunity to sit in the fire truck, hold a fire hose, watch fires being extinguished and savour a delicious sausage sandwich. Throwing open the fire station doors to the community is an important way to spread fire safety messages and information about the services provided by our local Fire and Rescue NSW crews.

This is particularly vital for the younger members of our community and hopefully will inspire young ones into the service. As well as leaving with activity books featuring safety tips such as how to stop, drop and roll, Charlestown children learned more about the operations of their local fire station and the importance of having a fire safety plan in place.

I thank our local crews for hosting such a successful day for the community.

A Community Recognition Notice is an opportunity for an MP to submit a short statement praising the work of an individual or group in the local community. If you have any ideas about people I can recognise with a Community Recognition Notice, please email and let me know!